Women’s basketball: VanDerveer thinks this team might be the most improved she has had at Stanford

Nashville, Tenn. — On the eve of the national semifinals, Tara VanDerveer said her Stanford team might be the most improved team she has ever coached.

When the season started she was trying to figure out which of her five freshmen she could work into the mix. “We start a whole different lineup than we did in November,” she said.

Guard Lili Thompson turned out to be the freshman who made the biggest impact. The small forward spot, though, is “in flux a lot,” VanDerveer said. Sara James starts, but Bonnie Samuelson usually plays more minutes, and Taylor Greenfield sees action too.

The most improved player on the roster, from where she was when she entered college, is certainly Mikaela Ruef. As a freshman, VanDerveer said, “she would go into the game and turn the ball over so many times and so fast, it would be like we could only play her one minute. She has been one of the most improved players that we’ve ever had at Stanford.”

After going much of the season with only Chiney Ogwumike averaging in double figures, the Cardinal have five averaging at least 10 points in the NCAA Tournament: Ogwumike (23.3), Amber Orrange (12.3), Samuelson (12.0), Thompson (11.5) and Ruef (10.0).